One rich father had a lazy son. He had no idea about work: he ate and drank what was prepared, dressed in clothes sewn by someone else’s hands, and was very wasteful. The father, wanting to accustom his son to work and make him thrifty, took him to a distant village and gave him to a Kabardian as a worker for one gold a year.
The owner, knowing that this worker was the son of rich parents, did not force him to work particularly hard, fed him well and clothed him well. After a year, he gave him the gold and sent him home. The son comes home and gives his father the gold he earned.
The father took the gold one and, without examining it, threw it into the river; the son did not pay any attention to such a strange act of his father. The next year, the father gave his son as a worker to another owner, and also for one gold a year.
The second owner, like the first, did not force the worker to work: he fed and clothed him well, and when a year had passed, he gave him a gold coin and sent him home. The son came to his father and gave him the gold; he took the gold and threw it into the river; the son still did not attach any significance to his father’s action.
In the third year, the father took his son to a distant village, gave him to work for a poor Kabardian for a year, without assigning any payment for the work. From the very first day, the new owner forced the worker to work until he was completely exhausted and only in the evening, after finishing work, did he feed him. The work seemed hard to the lazy man: he was drenched in sweat and often became so exhausted that he fell to the ground in exhaustion, and the owner did not give him rest, calling him a parasite. Over time, he got so used to the work that the owner was always satisfied with him. He worked for a year, developed large calluses on his hands, and tore and frayed his clothes. At the end of the year, the owner gave the worker two gold pieces and sent him home.
The son came to his father and gave him two gold pieces. The father took the gold and was just about to throw it into the river when his son rushed towards him and grabbed his hand. The father looked at his son in surprise, but he said:
“Don’t throw these gold coins into the water, father: I got them through hard work!”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru